Hiding True Feelings
by DragonGamer0713
Summary: Rule sixteen of the Rules of Love series. Back before of his arrow-to-the-eye mishap and redemption, Sir Daniel Fortesque was a well-versed Captain of the Royal Guard, with a new challenge to face: guardianship. Rescuing a dragon chick from death, she grew older to respect Sir Dan and is determined to be his mighty steed. Baby steps first. Dragon OCs with Sir Dan being a middle man


**Hiding True Feelings**

"Talon! Talon!" Sir Dan called his growing steed. Being her caretaker, the Captain of the Royal Guard was not pleased on hunting down the little creature when it needs to train.

Or, when she is distracted by a rogue-roaming male.

"Where is that dragon..." he muttered as he sighed and shook his head. He's looked everywhere around the castle grounds, including the forest area around it. Even then, she was still not found. Sir Dan was slowly losing his patience with his young charge as he walked back into the castle, grumbling the whole way. "Maybe the King has seen her recently..." he muttered with a speck of hope left.

He stopped dead in the Throne Room as he watched King Peregrin being entertained by fire figures...performed by Talon. The very being he's been hunting down all morning. She was here playing in front of the royal crown the whole time. Sir Dan will lose his jaw if he was allowed to rant at her in front of the King. However, he kept his cool the best he could; he really can't lose face in front of his Highness.

Talon, standing on her hind legs, using her claws to guide and manipulate the fire she was breathing, her tail swinging in balance with her hips, as if she was human, smiling as she made a fire figure start to dance around, speaking over it, "The brave slayer was many things: a dancer, a lover, the pride of his kingdom and a god among men."

Sir Dan shook his head; his story-telling chops must've rubbed off on her.

"However, one day," Talon released a giant fireball and quickly shaped it into a dragon (mainly herself), "A mighty and powerful dragon attacked the village and grabbed a virgin, who happened to be the slayer's latest conquest."

"Oh my!" the King gleefully clapped his hands, encouraging her to continue. It was very easy to entertain the old man, especially when it came to Talon. She's known the King ever since Sir Dan rescued her as a newly-hatched chick. She grew up to respect his authority and personally helped her learn how to hunt, acting like a bloodhound than a dragon, but it got the job done regardless.

"The slayer was going to stop at nothing to rescue his love," the male fire figure rushing after the flying fire dragon figure holding the maiden, "even if it meant, he had to climb Devil's Peak, where the dragon dwelled!"

Sir Dan, despite his very loud and clanky armor, walked around to the side of the Throne Room, not having the heart to really stop her in the middle of the story she was telling. She was telling it well and with passion, while the King was having a blast listening. He shrugged; it's a win-win for them and it would be a very dick move to ruin this.

"While the dragon brought her to his cave, the virgin yelled at him 'Let me go!'" The fire figures moved according to their dialogue in the story, "'I was trying to save you!' the dragon barked at her. 'Save me!? I was perfectly fine with the slayer at my side.' 'Yeah, you're just the flavor of the week', the dragon grumbled, 'The moment he gets tired of you, he will go to the next harlot in line.' The maiden was shocked and appalled, 'How can I be sure?' 'Do you truly think you're the first maiden I've caught that had the hots for that slayer? All of them, they wanted that man and he treated them like week-old leftovers at the end of the romance.'"

Talon's fire figures began to look worn and sad, using her wings to regulate the amount of heat to make them look that way. "The maiden was upset by this truth, but just as she was about to do something about it, the slayer emerged from the cave's mouth and yelled, 'Don't worry my love! I will save you from this god-ridden creature!'"

Talon smirked as her fires quickly flared brightly as the dragon figure roared at the slayer, "'Ha! I have exposed your true nature, slayer!' the dragon roared, 'A lady-killer indeed! She will come to you at her own accord!' The slayer was shaken as he ushered her to him, 'Come to me, my maiden. I will take you home.' She frowned and said, 'Is this dragon telling the truth?' "No! Of course not! This fiend is doing nothing but adding lies and false words into your mind! I would never...'"

Talon smirked as the dragon did as well, "'Go ask your older sister. She'll tell you~'"

The King laughed heartily, "Oh no!" Even Sir Dan smiled and shook his head at the silliness of it all.

"'Dragon, I will spread the word of the slayer's misdeeds and how you are truly a beast to be respected, not feared.' 'Do as you must, maiden to expose this fiend, but I know the people will still fear me as a monster. I will remain here, but don't fear me, for whenever you need help, I will be there.'"

Talon smiled as she slowly started to snuff out the fire figures, "To this day, the dragon watches over the town, only emerging when he's hungry and when danger arises. Many brave men try to fight him, but none of them succeeded. The maiden spread nothing but good word on the dragon's behalf, even if the people didn't believe. Only time will tell, if war breaks, that the dragon will protect them or not. The End, Sire." she took a small bow before she stood up straight and sat down on her hunches and placed her front claws on the floor.

The King smiled and laughed, clapping his hands together, "Bravo, Talon! Bravo! What a great story and what a beautiful display!"

"Indeed, your Majesty," Sir Dan agreed. "As much as I hate to interrupt your entertainment, sir, I must take my young charge to get her fitted for her first saddle and train her to carry a heavy weight on her back."

"Of course, of course, Sir Daniel," he nodded, "Go, train this charming beast so one day, you will ride her into battle and be a legend!"

"I hope so, Sire," Sir Dan chuckled as he bowed to his King and walked over to Talon, whispering harshly, "You're so lucky the King is in a good mood, or I'd drag you out by the horns..."

She rolled her green eyes and muttered, "Sure, sure, Sir Dan..." She bowed one last time to the King and walked out of the Throne Room at Sir Dan's side. She yawned softly as muttered, "I'm hungry."

"You can eat after you get fitted for your saddle," he answered.

Walking out of the castle and heading towards the leather workers in the town, Talon sighed as she muttered, "I can just fly over to the leather workers, instead of walking at a snail's pace."

"You need to get used to walking more and flying less, especially when you're carrying anything or anyone on your back."

"Are you turning me into a workhorse?!"

"Nope. I'm turning you into my steed. After all, I found you, I take care of you, and when you get bigger, you will replace my old horse in being my steed. You're still young and small, but this is the perfect time to get you trained in taking a large amount of weight and have you walk around with it."

Talon huffed out a puff of smoke, "Yeah...work."

"Hey, you can go back to the wild if you want, but from what I've seen, you barely like leaving the castle grounds at all. I think you got domesticated."

"Am not!" she snarled, "I can hunt and attack whenever I want! Hell, I can leave right now! Watch!" she leaped into the air and flew as high as she could until Sir Dan couldn't see her anymore. The Captain sighed and leaned against the closest wall and waited for a good ten minutes.

Talon hovered back and muttered, "I hate it when you're right..."

Sir Dan smiled and gently scratched her head, his fingernails scratching between the crests on her skull. She moaned softly and purred as she sat down, encouraging him to keep up his action, which he chuckled as he retreated his hand away, "Come on. Talon, it's not a bad thing that you became domesticated. If anything, that's a good thing, especially for us, the people in the town. They know they can trust you to not attack them or eat their livestock."

"I don't think I'm the one they have to worry about..." she muttered, remembering the one male dragon that appeared a couple months back. He claimed to be the only male dragon in existence, but even Talon doesn't believe that. Despite being the only female dragon on record right now, she would rather be training than being pounced by that rambunctious male.

Speaking of...

A sound of flapping wings was caught by Talon's sharp ears and quickly jumped into the tree line. Seconds later, a big red blur crashed into the ground, making Sir Dan recoil back a bit. If Talon just doesn't like him, then it's Sir Dan who harbors massive hate for the dragon. "Maverick..."

The crimson red dragon stood up and shook out the debris from his landing, ruffling off his crimson feathers on his wings and the light blue fur along his spine. "Hey, Dan!" Sir Dan's dark eyebrow twitched when he wasn't addressed the right way, "Where's Talon? Normally she's with you."

"She ran away...and never returned," Sir Dan crossed his arms over his chest plate. He hated the fact that this dragon fell hard for his golden dragoness, but it was understandable from nature's standpoint. Male finds a female and wants to mate. Sounds simple enough.

But Maverick, the rogue dragon, saw Talon once and instantly fell for her. Thankfully, Talon was smart enough to not do the same thing.

Maverick pouted as he looked at Sir Dan, "No, her loyalty to you is too strong to have you be abandoned."

"Huh..." she spoke from the tree line by accident, "I never thought of it that way before..."

He beamed and pounced into the tree line, causing the female to quickly jump out of her hiding place and leap back to Sir Dan's side, arching her shoulders up and baring her fangs. "Go away, Maverick."

"Aww, why?" he jumped back into the path, shaking the leaves out of his fur. "I just wanted to say hi to you."

"Well, hi", she halfheartedly waved her claw at him, "Ok, bye now."

The dragon pouted, which was a rare thing for any human to see. "Oh come on, Talon. Can't I just hang with you for the day?" He pranced his claws down while his tail was still in the air, "Please? Just one day?~"

Sir Dan muttered, "She's in training today."

"Training? For what?" he asked.

"She's going to be my steed one day," he strongly stated, trying to get it through that thick skull of his. "A great honor in the kingdom."

Maverick scowled, "Humans should never ride dragons. We are very unpredictable creatures."

"Not really," Talon sighed, "That's just you, Maverick."

"But, come on, Talon. Are you really going to let this human ride you like a war horse?"

"If it means I get to protect the very man who saved my life and gave me a chance to live a much better life, then yes."

Sir Dan smiled, while Maverick's jaw hit the ground, forcing Talon to snap it back up. "Think of it this way, if Sir Dan never found me, I'd be dead. And you would never would've stuck around Gallowmere. Think about it."

Maverick's bright blue eyes widened a bit, letting her statement sink in. "I guess I need thank Dan as well."

"Sir Dan," Talon corrected him, "He earned that title. Address him as such!"

Maverick stepped down, grinning sheepishly, "You're barking like a Captain's loyal dog. I like a female with a little fire in her throat," Maverick purred and exhaled fire heart in her direction.

Talon looked away, using her tail to wave it away, "Sir Dan, let's go."

Sir Dan smiled as he and Talon walked into the village, with Maverick a few feet behind them. Talon looked straight ahead, making sure her golden scales were not glowing. She didn't want to admit that Maverick was brave to compliment her like that. She was naturally strong and watching Sir Dan command his troops made her feel like she too can command that kind of respect when needed.

She would never yell unless it was needed; it's always needed against Maverick.

Sir Dan walked into the leather shop and allowed Talon to walk in first, the dragon already overrun with the smell of fresh leather all around her. She retched and growled, "Talk about strong."

"Don't worry, we won't be the shop itself for very long." Sir Dan walked over to the lead worker, he began to talk to him, which Talon didn't catch because she was distracted by the smell.

The worker nodded and ushered Talon into the back with him. Talon, despite her size, was able to walk into the back without a lot of trouble. Sir Dan followed and stayed to the wall as the worker took a long string and pointed to the center of the room, so Talon can be measured.

"Now, I've never made a saddle for a dragon, only horses," the leather worker told Sir Dan, "But I'll do my best."

"Good," he nodded.

"Ok, what's your name?" he asked, Talon.

"Talon Firerunner," she answered, standing straight and her wings folded neatly against her sides. She stood to be the size of a fully grown Irish wolfhound, which was fine for her age and size frankly. She will be the size of Clydesdale horse in a year or so and will only continue to grow.

"Stay still, Talon," he told her as he used his string to measure along her body and see where the saddle would sit comfortably on her back without restricting her wings. As of right now, she's not grown enough to even consider a rider, but she is big enough to start hauling heavy objects. "Ok," he stated as he quickly made notes of her measurements, based on how much string he used on her. "Open your wings."

She nodded as her gold and brown wings gently unfurled, like the sails on a ship, spreading them out. Almost instantly, her wingspan covered the whole room, both ways. The worker gasped, shocked at how large they truly were. While flying, one doesn't really notice how big dragon's wings are until one is studying them and making them stay still.

"I'm guessing about six feet, almost seven feet," Sir Dan speculated as the worker wrote it down. "You need those wings to be strong in order to carry you."

"They'll get much bigger as I grow," she smiled, rather proud of how large her wings are. With them, she can easily whoop down from the air in record time and deliver havoc on anything in her way.

"For now, I can fit you for a mock saddle."

Talon looked at the worker and asked, "What's a mock saddle?"

"It's a saddle that allows you to feel the weight of one, as well as have attached weights to it so you can get used to carrying a rider on your back. Best start learning, Talon," Sir Dan stated.

As the worker strapped her up with leather straps and a poor excuse for a saddle on her back, she felt something heavy...very heavy sit on the saddle, making her growl softly at the sheer weight of it.

"How much weight is that?" Sir Dan asked, a little concerned to see how Talon's shoulder was starting to buckle and making her look very top heavy.

"250 lbs, Sir Daniel."

His eyes widened, "Too much too fast! This is her first time carrying weights this heavy! Give her hundred."

"But sir..."

He growled, "She is my dragon and I will train her to what I feel is right." With very little bravery to the worker's name, he fled from Sir Dan's fierce-looking blue glare, reducing the weights on her back. With only hundred pounds on her back, Sir Dan walked over to her and asked, "Can you move at all?"

Talon lifted her head and arched her neck a bit, feeling it not under so much weight anymore, "Thank you, Sir Dan."

"You can't be trained in such a harsh way. Humans can, dragons cannot."

"Because we can light you on fire if you piss us off?" she joked.

He laughed, "Exactly." He paid the leather worker and commanded, "Have more weights on standby in two weeks' time."

"Y-Yes sir."

"Good. Come on Talon," he walked her out to the front door again, being greeted by a bored looking Maverick.

He looked up and smiled, seeing Talon. "Hey."

She looked down, "Hey, Maverick. Are you going to follow me all day?"

"Actually, for once, this could be a good thing," Sir Dan hummed, rubbing his dark stubble chin, "Maverick, can you run Talon through an obstacle course? Through the woods?"

Maverick smirked, "Of course!"

"Good. I want Talon to get used to having those weights on her back, even while running and jumping."

"You can count on me, sir!" Maverick did a mocking salute at Sir Dan, who only slapped his forehead with a loud groan.

"Please, Maverick, don't make me regret this..." he moaned as his leather glove ran through his black hair.

He nodded vigorously and roughly nudged Talon's side, making her nearly fall over, "Whoa, hey!" she barked.

"Are you getting to take that from me?~" he smirked, looking very smug.

Talon growled as she gained her balance again and jumped to tackle Maverick, only to come up short on her jump. The weights held her down decently well to the Earth, making her growl as she charged at him with her horns. Maverick's curled horns were a perfect counter to her long pointed ones, making her lose her balance again. With a growl, she tried to slash out at him, but even she couldn't stand on her hind legs anymore, making her slash attack suddenly drop, using only three claws on the ground and only one up. Again, this fucked up her balance and made her nearly fall to her side.

"Stop it!" she barked.

"You need to make me first~" he smirked, darting off into the woods. Talon, without paying attention to her human master, she rushed after the crimson dragon, despite the weights tilting and rocking as she moved. She didn't complain once though; she will carry Sir Daniel Fortesque into battle one day. She needs to get stronger if she is able to achieve that goal.

However, the only thing Maverick is doing is testing her patience. She is ready to roast him alive when she catches him.

Maverick smirked as he ran and jumped against the trunks of trees, nearly uprooting a few of the weak ones in the process. He was heavier than Talon by a good hundred pounds, the size of a baby elephant, but obviously not as slow. The red blur boasted, "Try to keep up! Don't give up on me!"

Talon snarled, "When I catch you, you will regret upsetting me!"

"Oh, I bet I will!" he laughed, uprooting another small tree with his running jumps.

Talon began to pant fire sparks from his nostrils, getting faster and faster to try to keep up with him. With the weights continuing to hinder her speed, she pressed on. The flaming embers coming out of her nostrils, her claws sometimes caught them, literally making her run with fire.

There was a reason she was given that surname Firerunner.

Maverick looked behind him for a split second and the second he turned back, he gasped as he almost got hit by an already-uprooted tree across his path. With a split-second decision, he charged it out of his way with his curled horns, bashing the old log into splinters as he continued to sprint. "That was too close…"

Talon was nearly foaming at the mouth, her joints aching, her back losing proper form and her muscles were burning. Tears forming around the corners of her eyes, she released a last burst of speed and power, zooming at the red dragon and finally tackling him into a tree. They both collided with it, but Talon was far too weak to even stand after that last ditch effort, making her crash to the ground, panting like an over-worked horse.

Maverick, who took the blunt of the crash anyway but was in a better condition, grunted as his body was charged hard against the tree. When Talon collapsed, he stood up and shook off the shock, "Whoa. That was a hell of a tackle, Talon. I knew you could keep up with me." When he looked down at her, lying on the grass, twitching from exhaustion, he gulped, "Uh oh. I'll be right back." He walked over to her and gently tugged on the bandana she had around her neck, colored purple with the Gallowmere Royal Guard insignia on it. Quickly shaping it to create a pouch, he rushed to the closest source of water, which was a small brook. Dipping the bandana into the water, he scooped up a good amount without spilling it. As carefully as he could, he slowly made his way back to the golden dragoness.

Talon tried to sit up the best she could, her joints still trembling from the over-exhortation. The weights on her back were not doing her any favors as well, making her realize just how horrible they truly are. She barely had them for an hour and she's already regretting them.

As the thought crossed her mind, she frowned deeply as she lay back down in the grass. If she can barely handle 100 lbs. of weights, then how will she ever carry Sir Dan into battle?! The thought of being unable to do so was enough to almost bring her to tears. She could almost imagine Sir Dan's disappointment…

"Hey," Maverick's muffled call snapped her out of her thoughts, forcing herself to shield her eyes and look away, making the approaching dragon frown a little, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing that concerns you," she muttered, her voice sounding like it was going to break.

He frowned, his front teeth holding onto the bandana full of water, "Come on, drink up." Lowering it forward in front of her snout, she dipped her tongue into the cool drink and lapped it up like a cat, refusing to look at Maverick in the eyes. The water was gone within a matter of moments.

Maverick wrapped the bandana around on her neck in a messy manner, but she didn't seem to care. In fact, something was not right with her. He frowned, "What's wrong, Talon? So full of fire one moment and now…what happened?"

Using her claws to cover her eyes, she whimpered, "I've failed."

"Failed? Failed what? The obstacle course? No you didn't."

She sniffed, "I failed…Sir Dan."

"How?" he laid down on the grass next to her, one of his feathered wings draped over her scaly body as a sign of comfort. As much as he likes to chase Talon for being the only female dragon, he still cares for her and wants to help in any way he can. Be a pest one moment and then be a friend the next. "Talk to me."

"Leave me alone…"

"I'd rather not," he frowned, gently nuzzling his cheek the best way he could show his support. "You can talk to me about anything, Talon. I know I'm a pain in the tail, but I mean well. Even you know that."

"I know…"

"Then tell me what's wrong. I won't say a word of this to Dan."

She growled, "It's 'Sir' Dan."

"There's that old fire~"

She sighed and looked away from him, "Why do you even care?"

"Easy. You're my only friend in these parts. Even Dragon Island is ruthless and not all that fun. There's a reason why I don't go back there."

"I've never been to Dragon Island."

He shrugged, "It's a place where all dragons are from. Why you're here on the grounds of Gallowmere, I'm not sure. I flew across the ocean when I was strong enough to fly. Little did I know to find another dragon on the mainland. I will never go back now that I found you and Sir Dan as friends and/or allies."

"Why not just stay in the castle like me and serve the King?"

He chuckled, "I doubt the King would approve of my wild methods. Nothing against the human, not by any means, but I can't be held down by laws and rules. I refuse to be a human's pet. Not saying that you're one…"

"No, I understand. I owe my life to Sir Dan and I will not turn away from him…" that thought of disappointment came back, making her hide her eyes underneath her claws and looks away. "And I've failed him…"

"What did you fail?" he asked.

She sniffled, "I can't even carry around 100 lbs. so how can carry him around?!"

"You're in training," he stated simply, "Did you truly expect to be perfect on your first day of training?"

"Well…"

He nuzzled her again, "Listen, did you think we all are perfect at a task first try? No. Even humans can't walk first try. Did you think we can fly the second we hatch from the egg?"

"I know…but still…"

"You're being too hard on yourself. I understand you want to help Sir Dan, but right now, you're getting your body ready. Be lucky I'm not on top of you, telling you to carry me~"

She scowled, "That's not funny."

He smiled and chuckled, "What? It's true. There's a reason why I taunted you into chasing me. To get you used to running with the weights on your back."

Talon looked up at him at last and sighed, "You truly want to help me train?"

"Of course. I mean, I want to help you grow and get stronger. After all, you are my only friend, Talon~"

She blushed and looked away again, hiding her eyes with her claws again. "Don't say it like that. My mind will go crazy."

He chuckled and asked, "Want to try standing up now?"

"Maybe…" she rolled onto her belly and trembled as her claws tried to lift her weight. With a grunt, she collapsed. "Damnit!"

"Hold on, Talon," Maverick stood up and tried to nudge her chest up, trying to support her as she tried to stand again. With a grunt, her joints locked together and made her stand up, but not move at all. Maverick stepped away and encouraged her, "Take one step forward. I'm right here if you fall."

She gulped, but nodded regardless, raising one claw off the ground and placed it forward…while the rest of her body shook and refused to move at all. With a shaky breath, she took one step from her back right talon and wobbled again as she moved literally an inch forward. Maverick smiled at her, "There you go. You got this. I will walk you back to the castle."

"Thank you, Maverick," she smiled weakly at him, looking away after catching herself staring at him. His dark red scales looked so glossy and smooth, especially in the afternoon sun. The wind gently tossed his light blue fur along his spine and head. His smooth brown eyes shined at her like shiny copper and his smile made her suddenly crash to the ground again.

He yelped, "Are you ok? You were going so well."

"I'm fine. That was my fault," she chuckled at herself. Using all the strength she can muster, she stood up and began to wobble as she and Maverick began to move out of the forest and towards the castle.

Sir Dan was worried for his young charge, "It's been a few hours. Where did they go?"

"Ah, Sir Daniel," a sneering mocking voice spoke up, making him shoot up straight in a disgusted way, "Where is your little pest of a reptile!?"

"Zarok," he growled. Despite the fact that Zarok is the King's Royal Jester, he is very creepy and he and Sir Dan never got along anyway. Things got worse when Sir Dan brought in Talon as a young chick. Zarok wanted to King to slaughter the baby, but it was Sir Dan who protected her.

To add insult to injury, Talon bit Zarok's leg with fire in her eyes, knowing he was bad news.

"Don't you have Your Highness to entertain?!" Sir Dan growled, not wanting him around.

He sneered at the Captain, "Shouldn't you be training?! Where is that pest of yours!? Did it finally run away?"

"Of course not!" he snarled, "She is training with Maverick."

The magician scowled, "That filthy wondering dragon?! I knew keeping one would make others come here! I told you, Fortesque!"

"He came here on his own accord. And he not once attacked the castle, the grounds, or the King! He is safe and if it was up to me, I'd take him in as well…just to upset you," he smirked evilly, knowing that Zarok's taboo form of magic doesn't exactly work on dragons, making them very deadly to him. Plus, Talon doesn't like Zarok anyway, so she doesn't need too much reason to attack him.

"And why not?!"

"Because he doesn't want to. That's his choice."

He sneered, pointing a long finger at the knight, "Listen here! They're nothing more but animals! We are on top of the food chain, not them! We are their masters, not partners! They don't get a say in anything we do!"

"Mind calling me an 'animal' to my snout, you spineless weasel!?" Talon snarled right behind them, along with Maverick looking very cross as well.

Zarok huffed, "You must be hearing things. I didn't say a word out of line."

Maverick hummed and looked at her, "I heard him say we are animals. And that we have no say in what humans do. Sir Dan, is that true?"

He nodded, having no shame in throwing Zarok underneath the wagon, "Yep, he definitely said that."

He sneered again at the knight, "You ally yourself with those monsters!?"

"Just remember, I raised one of those 'monsters'," he placed in air quotes, "And as a result, she is very loyal to me and to the crown. But…you wouldn't know what loyalty is…even if you were crushed with it…"

"You have a lot of nerve talking to me like that, Fortesque!"

Talon rushed between them, stood up and roared in Zarok's face, "BACK OFF!" She ignored the weights on her back and shoulders as her claws flexed and ready to slash Zarok to ribbons. "You leave Sir Dan alone, you magic hack!"

Maverick smirked smugly at Zarok as he walked over and sat down in front of Sir Dan, but next to Talon.

Zarok growled as he backed off, "One day, Fortesque. You won't have your scaly beast to protect you."

"Over my dead body!" Talon exhaled a jet of fire from her nostrils at him.

"That's the idea," the jester cackled as he left the grounds to go back to the pits from which he came.

"Attagirl," Maverick chuckled, "Standing on your hind legs without any trouble."

"Who said it wasn't trouble?" she asked as she crashed down on all fours again.

"Are you ok, Talon?" Sir Dan asked as he looked at her all over, kinda like expert inspecting a pure-bred horse. He noticed that her scales had some grass stains on them and her joints were still trembling a little. Plus, her shoulders were really hunched over, the weights all over the edges of the saddle. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired…weak," she whimpered softly, "But I couldn't let that skinny toad see me like that. I'll never live it down! Plus, then he would know to pressure me into more weights, wearing me out."

Sir Dan nodded, "Very well. I think it's dinner time."

"Sweet!" she beamed, her tail wagging hysterically like a weed whacker.

Maverick smiled sadly at her for a moment, knowing his time with her is ending.

Sir Dan saw the look on his mug and said, "Talon, say goodbye first."

The golden dragoness would normally scowl and frown, but this time, she nodded softly and turned to Maverick, "Thank you for helping me today."

"I was glad to do it," he smiled.

"And...I guess you're not that big of a pain in the tail after all."

Maverick blushed and looked away with a sheepish chuckled, "Hey, Talon, you're making my scales redder than usual."

"That was the plan," she smirked, making the dragon instantly snap back with a shocked look in his eye.

"You little snake! I will get you tomorrow!"

Talon laughed as she slowly walked towards the castle where Sir Dan was waiting, "Looking forward to it~"

"Also, quit hiding your snout from me~ I know you're hiding~"

With a raging fireball suddenly aimed at him, Maverick yelped as he took to the air, chuckling as Talon walked next to her human master, "He's a prick..."

"Yes, I know," he smiled, walking into the castle to eat a well-deserved meal.

Rule of Love:

Looking away=Hiding True Feelings


End file.
